Answers demanded over Leeds council’s £270M airport rail link plans

A Lib Dem MP is demanding answers over plans for a new rail link to Leeds-Bradford airport, amid claims of poor planning by council bosses.

Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland has submitted a list of 14 questions to Leeds City Council’s chief executive Tom Riordan, in a letter seen by the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Among his queries is a request to see a total cost breakdown of the project; a list of the buildings which would have to be compulsory purchased for the plans to go ahead, and associated costs; what buildings would be demolished; the proposed size of the station; the cost of road changes and traffic assessments. He also asks if the station and associated park and ride are dependent on a new airport link road being built;

A new Parkway rail station connecting to Leeds Bradford Airport forms part of a new £270million transport package which the council has drawn together in recent months following the scrapping of the trolleybus scheme last year.

The council has now submitted its proposals to the Government. The authority is hoping the plans will help safeguard the £173m of funding which was originally earmarked for the NGT trolleybus.

In a response to Mr Mulholland, Leeds council’s director of City Development, Martin Farrington, says it is not possible to answer all the questions in depth before the Government cash is banked. However he adds: “A dialogue is ongoing with the airport company and Network Rail in terms of the early development and shaping of the proposals.

“Once the Government funding is released to the city, we will be in a position to further confirm the process going forward for the detailed development of the proposals and all the associated public engagement and consultation.”